Karl Dorrell officially pushed Jim Svoboda off the cliff yesterday. Here is Dohn's brief report on how the Thinker is in the market again looking for his fourth offensive coordinator in his fifth season. Dohn mentions former OC Tom Cable's interest in returning (after he abruptly bailed on the team and recruits last season) to Westwood. He also talks about possibilities (which we have brought up before) about Dorrell taking over the offense:
Dorrell said he might take over running the offense.
"That's something I've thought about heavily since the bowl game," Dorrell said. "That's part of the consideration, but I'm also looking at some outside candidates as well."
Dorell also served up usual bullshit clichés and coachspeak such as how is opened to the possibility of tinkering with his weak, ineffective, and predictable offense:
"That's something I've thought about heavily since the bowl game," Dorrell said. "That's part of the consideration, but I'm also looking at some outside candidates as well."
Dorrell's West Coast offense has failed to produce big numbers in three of his four seasons. He said an option was to implement another offense.
"We'll see about that," Dorrell said. "I'm always looking for doing what's necessary for us to be competitive on offense."
There is more of Dorrell's nonsense peppered all over the report written by the Trojan Times's UCLA beat writer (Trojan Alum) Lonnie White. White's report as usual doesn't provide any revealing tidbits except for Dorrell usual nonsense such as this:
"We'll see about that," Dorrell said. "I'm always looking for doing what's necessary for us to be competitive on offense."
"I know we have a foundation of offense ... but that foundation allows us to grow and to add and implement things for improvements. I'm receptive to doing what is necessary for us to continue to improve."
Of course all of this is the bullshit we have been hearing from Dorrell in his three mediocre, uninspiring years in Westwood. Here is Dump Dorrell's rapid response. And then there is epic response from Bruin Blue, who eviscerates Dorrell's credibility (if he had any left) as the leader of his football program:
He would have already fired Dorrell twice by now. Think about it. Here is Dorrell, stepping into the UCLA job, saying he's ready to go, predicting a conference championship in his first year. He fires a number of the holdover coaches, brings in his own guys. Hires his own offensive and defensive coordinators. One 6-6 year later (not quite a conference championship there), he fires the OC he had just hired, saying that a different direction was needed. Two years after that, he fires the original DC he had hired--different direction needed, of course. His second OC decides he would rather be a position coach in the NFL than an OC at UCLA, so off he goes. Dorrell promotes the man he had hired as QB coach (who had won an award in that role) to OC. A year later, he fires him, relying on his favorite phrase about a different direction being needed.
Meanwhile, Dorrell himself, with no conference titles, no BCS Bowls, 29-21 in four years, loves to talk about how we're building, going in the right direction. It's a long, slow process, this building--much more tedious than it was at USC, or Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia, Cal, et al. So we must be very, very patient with Dorrell as this goes on. But Dorrell shows no patience whatsoever with his assistants, whose careers and reputations are of course damaged when they are fired by him. If Dorrell's boss Guerrero was half as cold-blooded and self-interested as he is, he would have been fired after his second year--a new direction needed, you know. He would certainly have been fired after this last season--thanks for everything, Karl; but we really do need to go off on that new direction now. But no, he gets to stay, while relentlessly scapegoating anyone he can; until the year when he finally has that perfect concatenation of veteran players, easier schedule, short-term coordinators with ability; and he can have his one really good season. At which time, Dorrell, like many a company executive before him, will leave for a better job, having done what was personally necessary for him to look good, never mind the cost to others. In the Darwinian world of big-time football, that wouldn't be so awful--if only Dorrell were susceptible to the same rules that he chooses to apply to others.
It's sad really. Dorrell has become a joke. He really has no credibility left among the majority of Bruins Nation. It's pretty clear he is in it just for himself. If he wasn't he wouldn't be going through this sad but predictable scapegoating process year after year blaming everyone but himself.Meanwhile, Dorrell himself, with no conference titles, no BCS Bowls, 29-21 in four years, loves to talk about how we're building, going in the right direction. It's a long, slow process, this building--much more tedious than it was at USC, or Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia, Cal, et al. So we must be very, very patient with Dorrell as this goes on. But Dorrell shows no patience whatsoever with his assistants, whose careers and reputations are of course damaged when they are fired by him. If Dorrell's boss Guerrero was half as cold-blooded and self-interested as he is, he would have been fired after his second year--a new direction needed, you know. He would certainly have been fired after this last season--thanks for everything, Karl; but we really do need to go off on that new direction now. But no, he gets to stay, while relentlessly scapegoating anyone he can; until the year when he finally has that perfect concatenation of veteran players, easier schedule, short-term coordinators with ability; and he can have his one really good season. At which time, Dorrell, like many a company executive before him, will leave for a better job, having done what was personally necessary for him to look good, never mind the cost to others. In the Darwinian world of big-time football, that wouldn't be so awful--if only Dorrell were susceptible to the same rules that he chooses to apply to others.
Whatever. At this point I have become somewhat numb to existence of Dorrell. I have penciled him in as a lost cause. As an alum my expectation for this football program based on the talent and experience (20 returning starters) in our roster and the easy schedule we have set up for next season is nothing short of a Pac-10 championship. Do I think Dorrell is going to deliver? Based on his track record during last years I don't see how he can do it.
So I am going to put myself in a win/win mind-set for now. I do believe if Dorrell doesn't win the Pac-10 next season, the pressure on Dan Guerrero is going to be overwhelming to fire KD (we all have done a great job of ratcheting up the pressure during last 2-3 years and if keep it up it will reach a boiling point through next season). On the other hand if by chance miracle happens and Dorrell wins the Pac-10, as Bruin Blue alluded above, I think he is going to jump to the NFL route. I really think Dorrell is going to get out of Westwood if he has one successful season. I don't think he wants to be in Westwood. If he did his name wouldn't constantly show up in coaching candidate list just by accident. So if he finally delivers on the expectations he himself established when he was introduced to the LA media (which was to win the Pac-10 and beat Southern Cal) he will leave Westwood. And if he doesn't then DG will have to fire him.
We will get back to enjoying Ben Ball. It's lot more fun to root for a program which has a competent and inspiring leader, who understands what those magical four letters in blue and gold means to the Bruins Nation. No credibility issue there.
GO BRUINS.